One day left.

I just want to start by first covering the temple trip that I never talked about. The temple truly is a house of god. I could feel his presence there and it was a huge testimony builder. I really,really appreciated the guidance and love I felt from the family that was able to be there. I cannot express to you my sincere gratitude adequately in words. The temple is a place of deep comfort and I know that it is my responsibly to share that feeling with the great country of Peru. I am going to do my best to attend more often.

Yesterday was my last day to watch TV and as I was watching one last episode of the big bang theory I realized that at one point I thought that giving up television was going to be the hardest obstacle for me to overcome. As I sat and pondered I came to the conclusion that I was wrong, the hardest thing for me to give up was spending time with the people that I love most. I love my family, and I feel really blessed to have had the opportunity to be raised by such loving parents.

After I was set apart later that night, this overwhelming feeling of the magnitude of what I had just done hit me, I had to take a huge breath just to keep myself from breaking down and crying. I just keep telling myself that the lord will give me no challenges, no trials, that I cannot handle. Going on a mission for me has been a 19 year long build up of anticipation. Now that it is here I almost feel like I have lost something. Almost like dogs that chase cars, and once they have caught the car realize that the excitement was all in the chase. This is one of those times that I need to lead my life by faith. Learning to place your trust in the lord is extremely tough, but I am comforted in the knowledge that over time that burden will become lighter.

Today we collected all the final supplies that I needed, sowing kit, white tie, and a few other small things. There is a lot of stuff a missionary needs, and I just want to thank grandma for such a awesome suitcase or should I say suit cases. I had to buy another.

My next post will be from the MTC so I look forward to telling you how everything is going.

With nervous excitement,

Jaren